The Bully Bug Page 7

  “Even worse, your mind is changing. Right now, you can still think. But eventually, you’ll be all insect. Both your body and your mind. You probably don’t even realize you’re grooming yourself.”

  I looked at my hands. I was in the middle of licking one, and I was running the other up and down one of my antennas.

  “There’s another thing,” Norman said. I could tell from his voice that this was the worst news of all.

  “What?”

  “Mimic bugs are ephemeral,” he said. An instant later, he howled—“Ouch!”—as my hand clamped on his arm. “That means—”

  He stopped and looked at Sebastian.

  “Tell me,” I said.

  “It means they don’t live very long.”

  I thought about the dried bug bodies underneath the washing machine. “Maybe it’ll be different for me,” I said. “People live longer than bugs.”

  “I’ll tell you something,” Norman said. “I know what it’s like to be different. You and me, we’re both different. I’m smart and, let’s face it, a nerd. You’re big and scary and kind of rough. But you know what?”

  “What?” I asked.

  “As long as I’m human, I’m not alone.” He looked over at Sebastian. “There’s always someone. Always a friend somewhere.”

  “And I’ll give you another reason to do whatever it takes to stop being a bug,” Sebastian said.

  I looked over at him. “What?”

  “No human could possibly drool as much as you are right now,” he said. He smiled like that was some great joke.

  “Watch this,” I said to Sebastian. I waited until I was sure I had his attention. Then I turned my back to him and spun my head around so I was staring him in the eyes. He fainted again. But he woke up on his own this time.

  “What’s your idea?” I asked Norman.

  He clapped his hands together. “It’s great. We’re going to make you metamorphose. I mean, we’ll make you change shape. What you said about butterflies. It made me think. Why not make a cocoon for you? It has to make you change. With luck, you’ll be human when you come out.”

  “Or a butterfly,” Sebastian said.

  “No way,” Norman said. But he didn’t sound real sure.

  I wasn’t sure about that, either. But I knew I had to do something. “How can you make a cocoon?”

  “Tape,” Norman suggested.

  “Yeah,” Sebastian said. “My dad has tons of it. Let’s go to my house.”

  “Someone will see me,” I said.

  “We’ll carry you,” Norman told me. “Sebastian has all kinds of monster models and stuff. We’ll just pretend you’re a dummy.”

  At the word dummy, my hand shot out. “Ouch!” Norman shouted. “Not that kind of dummy. A model. Okay?”

  “Sorry.” I let go of his wrist.

  “Come on,” Norman said to Sebastian, “you want to take the head or the legs?”

  Sebastian’s face went pale. He took a step away from me.

  “Stop being such a baby,” Norman said. “Head or legs?”

  “Legs,” Sebastian said, taking a deep breath. “Definitely legs.”

  “Grab a butterfly,” Norman said. “We might need it.”

  Sebastian shook his head. “Not me.”

  Norman sighed and picked up one of his samples—a butterfly between two pieces of stiff plastic—and put it in his pocket.

  I leaned back and Norman grabbed my shoulders. Sebastian picked up my legs. “Don’t move,” Norman said as they carried me down the stairs. “Pretend you’re a dum—a model.”

  I held still.

  “My word, what’s that?” someone asked when we reached the bottom of the stairs. I figured it must be Norman’s mother.

  “Well, it’s either Sebastian’s new model or a huge kid from my school who looks a whole lot like an insect,” Norman said.

  “Very funny. Just get it outside,” his mother said. “It’s dripping on the floor.”

  “Right away.” I heard the door open, and then we were outside.

  They ran into a couple of people along the way. I stayed still and nobody figured out I wasn’t a model. We’d just reached Sebastian’s house when someone shouted, “Wait! Stop!”

  Twenty-one

  WRAP IT UP

  “Oh man. It’s Bud Mellon,” Sebastian said. “We’re dead.”

  “He won’t hurt you,” I said. Or tried to say. My voice was more like a buzz now.

  “That’s my brother,” Bud said, running up to us. Pit was with him.

  “Ssshhhh,” Norman said. “Let’s talk about this inside. We’re pretending he’s a model.”

  “I got a model,” Pit said, holding up his Captain Spazmodic figure.

  “How’d you find us?” Norman asked.

  “He ditched me yesterday to go to your house. I figured he’d done it again. I shouldn’t even be coming after him, the way he ditched me. But he’s my brother. And we Mellons stick together.”

  “Thanks,” I said. It was mostly a buzz.

  They carried me inside, then took me upstairs. Sebastian ran out of the room. I crawled up the wall. It felt good not having to hold still. When Sebastian came back, I crawled down and they started wrapping me in the tape. Norman explained his idea to Bud.

  Bud just stood there, watching me.

  “Angry?” I asked, trying very hard to say the word clearly.

  Bud shook his head. “No. Just thinking.”

  Whoa. I’d never heard Bud say he was doing that before.

  They had my legs taped by then and were starting on my body. I stood still, wondering whether this was a good idea. But I figured doing something was better than doing nothing. Hey—I thought of a joke. I was the world’s biggest tapeworm.

  They had my stomach done now. I crossed my hands on my chest, feeling like a mummy.

  “Hold this,” Norman said, putting the butterfly in my hands. “With luck, you’ll mimic it and change.”

  Sebastian turned on his stereo. I guess, since they were wrapping me, it was wrap music. Oh man, if I became a total bug, I was really going to miss making jokes. Not that anyone ever got to hear them.

  “Wait,” Bud said. “It’s wrong.”

  “What’s wrong?” Norman asked.

  “He copies stuff,” Bud said. “Right? He’s a mimic bug. That’s what you told him.”

  Norman nodded.

  “So give him the right thing to copy. We don’t want him to be a butterfly. We want him to be human.” Bud reached out and grabbed Captain Spazmodic from Pit.

  “Hey!” Pit yelled.

  “Quiet,” Bud said. “Lud needs this.”

  “That’s crazy,” Sebastian said.

  “Bad idea,” Norman said.

  They all started arguing. I could tell Bud was getting ready to throw some punches.

  “Wait!” I shouted. It didn’t come out that way. It was just a buzz. I couldn’t make words anymore, but at least I got their attention.

  Everyone turned toward me. “Let him decide,” Norman said.

  I looked at Norman. He was so smart. He knew more than I’d ever know. I looked at Bud. He’d never had a good idea his whole life. He got me into this whole mess in the first place. And he got me into the stupid talent show. And he’d gotten me into a thousand other types of trouble.

  But it made sense.

  I handed back the butterfly to Norman, then held out my hand to Bud. He gave me Captain Spazmodic. I folded my arms back together and nodded.

  “Go loose around the nose and mouth,” Norman said as they finished wrapping me. “Bugs don’t breathe like people, but Lud might still have lungs. We don’t want to suffocate him.”

  The last thing I saw was the four of them looking at me with worried eyes. My big brother, my little brother, and two kids I never thought I’d have anything to do with. Two kids who were helping me even though I’d never done a thing for them.

  I closed my eyes. Right then, I heard Norman laughing. Man—was it all some
kind of trick or joke? That was it. He was getting even with me. Getting even for the seventeen times I’d beaten him up.

  His laugh rang in my ears. He’d outsmarted me.

  Twenty-two

  SHELLING OUT

  “A bug in the program,” Norman said. “I just got it. That’s a good joke.”

  I felt someone pat my shoulder through the tape.

  “He makes lots of good jokes,” Bud said.

  “I just never expected it,” Norman said. “I guess that’s why I didn’t catch it right away.”

  They kept talking, but their voices seemed to go farther and farther away as I settled into the darkness around me.

  I drifted.

  It was deeper than sleep. I don’t know how long it lasted. I seemed to take forever to come out of it.

  “Hey. He’s moving.”

  The voice. It was Bud. I remembered the cocoon. I pushed out against the tape.

  Once I pushed my hand through the tape, it ripped easily. I stood up, feeling a bit dizzy. I couldn’t see clearly. Everything was real blurry.

  “Oh no,” Norman said. His voice sounded very far away.

  “It didn’t work,” Sebastian said. “I knew he shouldn’t have taken the model. Now what are we going to do?”

  “He’s the same,” Bud said. “He didn’t change at all. My brother’s a bug.”

  I didn’t feel the same. I felt hot. Real hot. I couldn’t seem to get any air. Everything was stuffy. Sweat rolled down my cheek.

  Sweat?

  I didn’t think bugs sweated. Something had changed.

  I tried to take a step. I heard a sharp cracking sound.

  “Look,” Norman cried, “it’s cracking open!”

  Suddenly, there was air. And light. The bug body was splitting into two pieces, falling off me. I held up my hands and looked at them. Normal. I touched my face. Normal. I’d changed. But I’d done it inside the bug.

  I stepped away from the shell.

  “An intact exoskeleton,” Norman said, stooping down to look at what was left of the bug.

  I went over to Bud. “Thanks. You were right.”

  He grinned. “I’m not so stupid after all.”

  “Nope,” I told him. “Not at all.”

  Thwack!

  “Hey!” I said after he smacked me in the head. “What was that for?”

  “Just felt like it,” Bud told me.

  I turned to Norman. “Thanks for helping me.”

  He grinned. “I sort of enjoyed it. Can I assume I no longer need to carry two sets of lunch money?”

  “Yeah. Or even one. From now on, I’m buying your lunch for you.” I turned to Sebastian. “Thank you, too.”

  “My pleasure, big guy. I love monsters.”

  I looked at the bug skin, then reached down and grabbed Captain Spazmodic from where he was clutched in the right claw. “Here,” I said, handing the figure back to Pit. “It wouldn’t have happened without you.”

  “Smart move,” Norman said. He patted Pit on the back. “You were right, Bud. I was wrong.”

  Thwack!

  Norman smacked me on the back of the head. “Just wanted to see what it was like,” he said.

  “Any time,” I told him. “Well, I guess we should head out.” I felt funny standing in Sebastian’s room, especially since until just a few hours ago, I’d hated him.

  “Hey, you can hang out if you want.”

  I looked at Bud. He shrugged.

  “Sure,” I said. “We can hang out for a while.”

  So we stayed and looked at comic books and stuff. A bit later, Sebastian’s little brother, Rory, came in and he and Pit actually seemed to get along. As we were leaving, Norman pointed to the bug shell. “What about this?”

  “You can have it,” I told him. “But I need to borrow it next week.”

  I had plans for it.

  Twenty-three

  ONSTAGE

  I watched the audience from behind the curtain. When they called my name and announced my act, the whole place got quiet. This was the moment I’d been afraid of. Walking out. Facing them. But I had done something to give me courage.

  I stepped out. A couple kids screamed. I heard someone whisper, “Awesome costume.”

  Someone else said, “That can’t be Lud.”

  I reached out and grabbed the microphone with one claw. It wasn’t easy. The bug skeleton—Norman explained to me that it was really a skeleton, only on the outside—was stiff, but it fit me perfectly. Bud had drilled a couple air holes in the head, so I could breathe, and he’d made some slits so I could see through the eyes.

  “Good evening,” I said. “I don’t know about you. But school really bugs me.”

  I paused and waited a second.

  “As soon as the bell rings, I fly out the door.”

  Still dead silence. It was getting hot inside the skeleton. I thought about walking off the stage. This had been a stupid idea. Nobody was getting my jokes. I gave it one more try.

  “Everyone knows I’m not a bookworm.”

  Someone laughed. It was Sebastian. I flinched, thinking he was laughing at me. But he slapped his knee and said, “Bookworm! That was good.”

  Someone else laughed. Norman.

  Then a third laugh. Higher. It was Dawn. I knew she’d never laugh at me. She must have liked the joke. I could see her in the third row. She smiled. That was the other reason I’d worn the bug skeleton—to let her know it was just a costume. I didn’t want her going through life thinking there were giant bugs out there.

  I heard Bud laughing, too.

  “At least I don’t have to study for my tests,” I said. “You know why?”

  “Why?” a couple kids called out from the audience.

  “Because I can always wing it.”

  A few more kids laughed.

  I kept going. Soon, they were all laughing. Not at me. At my jokes. When I was done, they clapped and cheered. I pulled open the bug shell and stepped out, taking a bow. As they clapped, I looked down at the insect I had been. I didn’t think I’d need it again. Next time—and I knew there’d be a next time—I’d just go up as myself. Lud. Lud the Comedian. I’m a funny guy. That’s a fact.

  Starscape Books by David Lubar

  NOVELS

  Flip

  Hidden Talents

  True Talents

  MONSTERRIFIC TALES

  Hyde and Shriek

  The Vanishing Vampire

  The Unwilling Witch

  The Wavering Werewolf

  The Gloomy Ghost

  The Bully Bug

  NATHAN ABERCROMBIE, ACCIDENTAL ZOMBIE SERIES

  My Rotten Life

  Dead Guy Spy

  Goop Soup

  The Big Stink

  Enter the Zombie

  STORY COLLECTIONS

  Attack of the Vampire Weenies and Other Warped and Creepy Tales

  The Battle of the Red Hot Pepper Weenies and Other Warped and Creepy Tales

  Beware the Ninja Weenies and Other Warped and Creepy Tales

  The Curse of the Campfire Weenies and Other Warped and Creepy Tales

  In the Land of the Lawn Weenies and Other Warped and Creepy Tales

  Invasion of the Road Weenies and Other Warped and Creepy Tales

  Wipeout of the Wireless Weenies and Other Warped and Creepy Tales

  About the Author

  David Lubar grew up in Morristown, New Jersey. His books include Hidden Talents, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults; True Talents; Flip, a VOYA Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror selection; the Weenies short-story collections; and the Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie series. He lives in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. You can visit him on the Web at www.davidlubar.com.

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  THE BULLY BUG

  Copyright © 2014 by David Lubar

  All right
s reserved.

  Cover art and illustrations by Marcos Calo

  A Starscape Book

  Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC

  175 Fifth Avenue

  New York, NY 10010

  www.tor-forge.com

  eBooks may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases, please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department by writing to MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.

  The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

  ISBN 978-0-7653-3082-6 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-1-4299-9313-5 (e-book)

  e-ISBN 9781429993135

  First Edition: September 2014